Meerah Blogs

So here I am, typing again.  With very cold fingers.  I seem to have lost one of my mittens.  This is very frustrating.  I know I had it yesterday because I went outside.  It was a trash day on my street, and trash days are wonderful.  Do you know what kinds of things people throw out?  Meerah has never seen such foolishness.  Most of these items are still quite useful. 

At first Meerah did not even know about these trash days.  Any trash that I had was taken care of in my firepit.  It is so hard to get good goat dung around here.  I do not wish to complain, so I make do with cardboad boxes and paper wrappers.  Once I found some nice, small pieces of wood.  They fit perfectly into my firepit and burned very nicely.  This worked very well for cooking and taking care of my trash until my neighbor moved his woodpile to the other side of his yard.  That’s when the nice lady told me about trash day. 

Apparently, you pay some men with a truck to come pick up your trash.  This seems very foolish to Meerah and I told the nice lady I would just keep burning my trash in the firepit.  Then she told me that some of my neighbors had complained about the trash burning in my firepit.  Something about a smell and missing wood . . . much nonsense.  Meerah told the nice lady that there was no smell since I had not been able to find any goat dung.  And as for wood going missing . . . Pfffpt.  I know nothing about that. 

So now Meerah must pay the men with the truck to pick up her trash.  The nice lady set it all up for me and told me to have my trash in plastic bags by the road early in the morning.  She did not tell me what kind of plastic bags to use.  The men with the truck looked angry when they had to pick up 35 plastic shopping bags full of trash from my yard.  I did not want to bother the nice lady again, so the next week I watched when my neighbors put out their trash and saw what kind of bags they use.

I went up and down the street checking my neighbors’ trash to make sure Meerah knew exactly what kind of bag to use and what to put in it.  For some reason, the men with the truck did not want to pick up all of my trash.  One man picked up a bag and threw it down quickly when he saw what was inside.  He and the other man talked vigorously for a long time with many gestures, before they went together to pick up the bag with a stick and throw it in the truck.

So I examine my neighbors’ trash, and while doing that discover something wonderful.  My neighbors will throw away anything!  Meerah came away with a lovely chair, three t-shirts and a machine for making bread.  This was so exciting to Meerah that I decided to check my neighbors’ trash every week.  And that is what I was doing yesterday.  It was very cold, so I wore my heavy coat and both mittens.  I checked all the trash up and down my street and came back with a big armload of very nice and useful items.  The machine for playing DVD’s will make a nice coaster and stand for my breadmaker flowerpot.

But when I got home and began looking for places to put my new things, I could not find one of my mittens.  I looked everywhere inside and outside, but could not find it.  Maybe next trash day someone will throw out a mitten or an old sock. 

Maybe someone will throw out a goat.  

Meerah can hardly wait until the next trash day.            

It has happened.  Meerah has seen the famous Hannah Montana. 

In a movie theater, not in the driveway or at the market.  Meerah is not so famous yet as to actually meet the great Hannah, but I have seen her on the film with the Miley Cyrus.  Meerah is very excited. 

The nice lady asked if Meerah would like to come with her and her young daughter to see this amazing concert film.  Meerah said, “Of course,” because Meerah is very fond of musicals, especially Bollywood ones.  At first, Meerah was a little confused.  I thought there were two girls singing, but the nice lady’s daughter explained things.  She said that Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus were the same person.  What kind of foolishness is this?  Then Meerah remembered that she had seen a musical movie like this before.  It involved two lives also, except it had a rat and a pig, not two girls singing and dancing. 

The concert movie was very nice even though it was not a Bollywood one.  Meerah enjoyed the dancing and singing very much.  I am not so sure about the special glasses.  When you put them on it looks like things are flying out to hit you in the face or the eye.  I thought I was doing well dodging these things, but they just kept coming.  The nice lady grabbed Meerah and explained they were special effects that came with the glasses.  She told Meerah to stop screaming so loudly because the children around us were getting frightened.  Still, Meerah enjoyed the concert film very much.  Hannah Montana and the Miley Cyrus do a good job.  (I know the nice lady’s daughter said they were one person, but Meerah is not so sure.)

Now, something else has happened.  Meerah has visited the great Wal-mart.

It was a wonderful experience.  Meerah was planning to visit other American markets and then give shopping tips to Americans who do not know how to shop for food.  (I hear they “eat out” at restaurants all the time.  This is not good.)  But why should Meerah go anywhere else to shop?  The Wal-mart has everything.  There are fruits and vegetables, flour, rice, herbs, spices, and tasty frozen burritos that Meerah has just tried.

Then, in another part of the market, there are many other wonderful things.  Clothes, shoes, toys and games for children, even tires to put on your car if you need them.  Meerah even saw furniture and kitchen appliances.  It reminded me of the market at home, except there were no goats. 

There weren’t any sheep or chickens either.  Maybe Meerah will visit some other markets. 

Right now, I tell all the people who do not know how to shop for food to try the Wal-mart.  It has so many things that you should be able to find something to cook for yourself to eat.  If you do not have a stove or a firepit, the Wal-mart has microwaves to buy.  If you buy the microwave, try the frozen burritos.  Meerah found them delicious.